Gun Mattsson was born and
lives in Stockholm, Sweden. Her pictures come
spontaneously to her. She paints directly without sketching. The
dreamlike meditative paintings seem to be scanning the global and
also her private world and special moments at the same time. Belief
in reincarnation and interest in trance physic science seem to be
part of the ground from which her paintings flow. Favourite techniques are
oil, acrylic, gouache, aquarelle and graphic art. She has exhibited in Art
Galleries, Museums and at Biennales in Canada, USA, Latin America,
Asia, Australia and many countries in Europe. She has received several
prestigious international rewards.

What
is for me the emotion to be an artist?
An
eager and uplifting emotion. Of course. But working determined with
many stories, waiting to be told, demands a deep concentration from
me and the feelings can also be of resistance and exhaustion.

When
I create my works, I do this straight off or I think my works and I
elaborate them before?
I
don´t draw outlines before making a picture. Never had.
A
sketch would run to high a risk to be abandoned for new ideas all the
time. It is more that I am like a hunter, intently watching in the
forrest, ready to rapidly catch the first quarry to be seen, then
waiting for the next.
Finally
making them become visible in the form of Art.

Is the
world only source of inspiration or confrontation with other artists?
Everything can give inspiration - a smell, a word, a thought, other
people, concrete events of all sort, and as in my case also colours
and inner forms, together with figures, seemingly coming from
nowhere. I myself have never copied, not even details, from
other artists works. Inspired by them? Not consciousIy, as every
person is an unit, able to contribute with their own unique skills.
As mixed " in a pot " - with different dates and
places of birth on the earth, inherited genes and more from
ancestors, numerological aspects ( personalities also read by
counting with names, transformed to numerals ) and to this special
family constellations, friends and never ceasing choices - they bring
with them a whole world of their own. Giving artists respect is the
best way of letting good sense and beauty flourish in the long run. I
think. About confrontation I see it as a democratic tool, which
should imply respectful debates in order to reach either an unity or
a compromise regarding very important targets and subsequent,
concrete acting. Confrontation
artist to artist. Why? I can see no common case here, in this area.
So why would artists be shut up in a fold by other artists, when with
diversity they will contribute more to society as free, creative
spirits.

When
I create I´m conscious that I transmit a message. What
would it like the answer of my public?
Initially
I am not thinking of any message at all. But
as my work proceed I get ideas and more ideas. When musing upon them,
my curiosity is steady growing. I search for some logical meaning.
Sometimes a smaller scen materialises, seemingly connected with other
scenes on stage. What
is uniting them? Is there something interesting to be found? Perhaps
a message, built on ancient historical occurrences, or the world of
religions? Or something in present time? Wisdom? Warnings?
Where
does it all come from. I only have a couple of personal wonderings
and proposals such as:
My
imagination, built on my learnings in life.
Metaphysically -
ancestors spirits, urging me to tell their stories for some
reasons.
Genes, bringing informations in some way. Hints from a
trans physic, parallel world.
But better leave that to the
scientists.
I hope my public like my paintings.

How
much important is the dialogue with the great artists of the past and
which of them I appreciate more?
I
feel that it would be too difficult to identify and compare myself
with the great artists of the past sufficiently to have a
dialogue.
However I have a boundless admiration for:
1) The
artists (often monks) who illustrated the medieval documents for
the churches and kings.
2) Giotto for his transcendental,
beautiful art.
3) Leonardo da Vinci for his many-sidedness. 4) Gaudi
for his exceptional architecture in Barcelona.
5) Salvador Dali.
He is my " brother ".
Besides I find oriental art
interesting.

Is
Art the rigor of the rules, freedom of expression or a compromise
between them?
I think Art can be all of this. I admire those artists,
who are skilled in the classic
techniques
and
goes on, keeping to that. I even more admire those artists who, using
the old techniques with great talent, give
it a twist and at the same time make something unexpected and worth
thinking about.
For
myself I´m simply doing my own thing, using what demands to take off
the adventure of making a picture, with a technique
chosen. All the time firmly aware of when to make a special face here
and a special colour there. It all comes from within.

Did I ever think to renounce making Art?No.

Did
I ever express myself with other forms of Art?
For
a short period of time, jazz dance. As a student at the University I
took part in an amateur theatre group there and I have had some other
experiences too in that area. Music is very important to me. I took
lessons in classic song and opera for a couple of years, but had huge
problems with my shyness. Solo performing in front of an audience? I
fled. I found it much easier to be member of a choir. However the
greatest happiness for me have been to sit in the middle of a
symphony orchestra playing the classic compositions on
violin. I
studied the instrument for eleven years. As my uncle played the
folk-music and he took me with him, I also sometimes used my violin
in that field.